Pumpkin Carving!

Tonight, along with most of the rest of the world it seems (lots of texts from friends saying "We are carving pumpkins tonight!") we carved pumpkins. Credit goes to Donna, the neighbor, because I hadn't put my pumpkin thoughts into action yet. She actually picked some up at the grocery store for neighbor night this week. Yay Donna! My favorite thought for the night is from Dylan, who sent me a text asking who came up with the idea of carving detailed designs into an inch thick gourd. I agree.

Here's my pumpkin, starting out.

Quinn's pumkin, finished. No nose. Odd. But cute.

Quinn lighting his and Andre's pumpkins at the end of the driveway.

Our giant pumpkin family, lined up outside Donna's garage.

My pumpkin and Donna's pumpkin.

Way to go, Quinn!

Tonight we celebrated the fact that Quinn has all A's and one B so far this semester! Lots of sugar cookies in the shape of A's and B's with little sayings like "Want a cookie?" etc. Because whenever someone does something good he always says "What do you want, a cookie?" Anyway... probably a bit dorky for an almost 16 year old, but I think he kind of liked it. He's really been stepping it up this year with school, working hard, getting everything done, and taking the initiative to talk to his teachers when he needs help... and it's paying off. I'm very proud of him!

Oh, Lily

It's a Lily post. I love this little dog. I wish she'd get a couple years on her really quickly, though, so she would mellow out. The first pic here is about as mellow as she gets, sleeping in the chair. She decided it was hers the other day, and she was just so cute I had to snap some pics. Comparing to the previous blog, you will see that still dogs are my photographic forte.



This next picture... well. Lily was standing next to me this morning, opened her mouth, and just as I started to walk away I heard this loud noise like a bunch of marbles hitting the floor. I wouldn't normally be gross enough to take a picture of throw up and put it on the blog, but Lily threw up about 20 rocks!!! Count them, I am not exaggerating. Needless to say, we will not be landscaping with rocks at our next house, and Lily is going to be watched closely on her trips outside. Lucy had some rocks in her belly on her xray the other day, too. We must have a rock buffet going on in our back yard. Yuck!

Mandy and Henry Come for a Visit

Best pic of the day, snapped by Quinn. Of course :) Cosmo on the left and Wally on the right.

Yay! It's been probably 3... maybe 4 years since I've seen Mandy and Henry. So on their way back through Portland today they took a detour and stopped by the house. It was really great catching up! Mandy and I got to chat, Quinn and Henry were spotted exchanging digits, Mandy and Marcy-Bunny got to have a reunion, and Cosmo and Wally... well, er, they were not that interested in each other, but that's ok. When Wally came inside Cosmo stood next to me and peed. Mandy said if he could lift his leg he would have marked me. Little stink. I got to visit with Alice, who I really like a lot! It's got me back to thinking I would love for Bunny to be a therapy dog. She would be perfect for it. If only I had the time... Anyway, we got some pictures... not the best, some of them, but I will put them all up and you can sift through for what you like. Oh Mandy, watch out next time you have Kate around... Quinn took a liking to her :) See you in January!

Mandy and Marcy... both look pretty happy :) I think most everyone knows that Mandy is Marcy-Bunny's other "mom." We like to say our girls have 3 mommies. Henry is looking on in the background, hoping Mandy doesn't somehow sneak Marcy out the door.

Wally (left) and Cosmo

The boys kept moving! Cosmo's neck looks thick here, uck.

Cosmo (left) and Wally

The boys and Bunny in the background. Ok, we can tell which brother is the show dog and which is Mr. Fidgets.

Saturday Morning

I love lazy Saturday mornings. Of course this Saturday morning is only lazy because I am ignoring the fact that I have a house to finish painting and mass amounts of homework.

Right now I'm sitting with Lucy, who is far less respectable than Bunny when it comes to bed rest. What would you expect from what we suspect is a Chihuahua mix, though? The second I moved in bed this morning she started whining, and whining, a would not stop whining. Now that I am in here she is curled up contently taking a nap. What a baby! I actually set up a little bed next to her x-pen last night, but had to leave because I was starting to get sore, and she was starting to be high drama. At first we were sleeping and I had a little opening in the x-pen and both our heads were on the pillow. Then she wanted to get into bed with me and started fussing about it. I wish I hadn't spoiled this little beast so much when we were alone in Houston. Bunny was much more mellow about bed rest. The nights I slept with her she appreciated the company, but she never pitched a fit when she had to be alone.

So Lucy is able to use her back legs quite a bit better now. She actually held most of her own weight to pee this morning. She still hasn't pooped, which worries me a bit. She's been eating regular amounts of food, and is starting to look a bit bloated. It also worries me that she's improving so quickly, but maybe I am just being paranoid. I really don't want her to have anything other than an infection because it would be really nice for this to be over and done with.

Alright, I better shower and paint... though showering seems pointless if I am going to paint... and go pay attention to the other dogs.

Improvement

I woke up this morning to some Lucy improvement. Her back leg is no longer curled up behind her, and when I went to sit her back down in the x-pen after bathroom time (still no success except a little pee in my hand) she resisted and tried to stand up. She still can't use her legs, which I wouldn't even expect after only 12 hours of meds, but it was definite improvement.

Only thing that worries me is I am assuming antibiotics can't work this fast so I wonder if it is an injury like a slipped disc and the anti-inflamatories are working. And honestly yesterday I was so stressed out I've forgotten what that would even mean... back surgery? Or maybe an infection causes inflamation as well. Lol... I could guess all day.

Well, Mandy is coming over for a visit Sunday so I am sure she can help me figure out more then. I'm looking forward to seeing Wally and Cosmo together for the first time in years. Cosmo and Coal always have that brother connection even when they've been apart for a long time so it will be interesting to see if Wally and Cosmo have it, too. I just hope Bunny doesn't have hatred for Wally like she does for Coal. He's a little hyper and she sent him packing on his last visit, tail tucked. Bunny is our local law enforcement.

Off to work...

Miss Lucy's Ordeal

Today I spent a good part of the day with Lucy at the vet. Quinn called me around lunch time to say Lucy's back legs weren't working. One of them was all curled up, and she was dragging them behind her. I got a really good reminder over my 40 minute drive to the house just why I need to find a job closer to home. In case of emergency.

Since I haven't taken the trouble to find a new vet yet (you usually do that when you have a routine exam and try out somebody new... at least that's how I usually do it) we went to the lovely doggy hospital mentioned in the Bunny blogs. What a horrible experience.

We got in there and they instantly whisked her back behind closed doors. I asked if I could carry her back there and they said no. This irritated me, but of course Lucy needed help so I let them do their thing. Pretty soon the vet comes out and tells me that it could be several things, and describes various treatments, but that they needed an xray... a regular xray could show something, but probably not. An MRI would be best, but that would cost $1000. So we went with the xray. At this point we were looking for a tumor, a slipped disc, or a spinal infection.

While they were getting the xray, Lucy started screaming bloody murder. Like non-stop for about 5 minutes. Other people were asking what was going on! I was like "I KNOW that is my dog screaming and I want to see her right now" and they said no. I started to argue with the receptionist, who said she would go back and check on her (after I went up to the door Lucy was behind and tried to open it). At this point I was getting really pissed, and feeling like I was not going to get a straight answer from these people. So I sent an emergency email to Carolyn, my surrogate mom when it comes to the dogs! I just wanted to know about these treatments and if they were worth it or if I should put her down and out of her misery. As previously mentioned, this vet is all about lining their pockets so they will prescribe rather than tell you to put your dog down... and if you want to put your dog down they make you feel like a giant shit.

As fate would have it, Carolyn had just heard from Mandy and Henry, and they were passing the 205 interchange. The vet just happens to be right off 205 just a few miles from where they were. Sweet! Mandy and Henry took a detour to come take a look at Lucy and help me make some decisions. I have such awesome friends! Mandy did her own assessment, and I ended up taking Lucy home with some prednisone for inflamation, and antibiotics for infection. Covering all of the bases... but since Lucy had a really high fever Mandy is leaning towards it being an infection. When I got Lucy from the pound she had a horrible bladder infection and it had been going for a LONG time. Apparently bladder infections that are left too long can make their way up into the spinal area. Seems weird, because the bladder infection was 4 years ago. It is apparently possible, though.

So we have yet another dog x-penned with bad legs in the computer room. Bed rest. The only new challenge with this one is since back legs don't work, we have to figure out a way to go to the bathroom. It didn't work very well for us tonight.

More Random Stuff

Thursday night my cousin Caroline and I took Quinn to see Carlos Mencia for his birthday. His birthday isn't for an entire month, but he is a HUGE Carlos Mencia fan so I decided that would be the perfect gift. It was an awesome show! At first I was afraid Quinn might get kicked out... it was pretty much all adults. Then at one point during the show Carlos Mencia said "If you're a 15 year old boy clap your hands!" and I think about 5 boys clapped! Lol. Then he started making fun of the freakishness that is a 15 year old boy, some of which is not appropriate blogging content, but I am sure you can imagine. The show was actually a little less clean than I thought... on TV he mostly makes fun of stupid people... which he did a lot of. There were also a lot of really dirty jokes and his midget friend was downright crass. The rest of it was hilarious, though. Lots of joking about people who were dumb and took out mortgages they couldn't afford and now the economy is jacked up ("DEE!") and lots of making fun of the political candidates. At the end of the show we took a picture with Carlos Mencia. It's at Aunty Gail's house right now going through the photo reproduction process :) You know you've made it big when you can charge people $25 to have a polaroid taken with you. Being the "frugal" family that we are, we pooled our funds and got 1 picture. At the end of the night my eyes were literally crusty from laughing so hard I cried for 3 hours straight! I could tell Quinn had a really good time, too, which is what the night was about!

The weather is nice and crisp and fall-ish. I find myself wanting to decorate, and hold hands and drink hot chocolate! Yep, it is that kind of weather. Fall is beautiful in the northwest. Everything is red and orange, and the leaves are blowing everywhere. I can't wait to get the house finished once and for all and to just enjoy some relaxing evenings at home curled up in a blanket.

Thanksgiving this year is at our house. Ack! Aunty Gail is tearing up her floors (the living room Pergo looks so wonderful she is going for the dining room now, too). I kind of mentioned that my house would be done soon, and that if hers wasn't... and she jumped on it. I am actually pretty excited! I've never had the holidays at my house before. I'll be deep frying a turkey and making some pulled pork, going a bit southern. Of course onion dip and chips will be there, as well as olives for our fingers (yes, I still do that). Aunty Gail will bring her amazing pies. She's the best cook ever. I just have to stash the dogs in a couple rooms and not cause a fire with the deep fryer, and all should be well.

I am missing Houston a bit. Mostly Jeff, of course. I was thinking a bit about Manenas today, and the other day I was craving Thai Gormet. Then another day I was craving Lupes and that other Mexican place across from my old apartment in the Galleria... A nice drive in the country... going to the Galleria... visiting Cheska... oh, and I miss Brenham constantly. I love Brenham.

I might skip the holiday party this year for work. It just doesn't hold the same appeal that it used to. I think some people will be upset with me for not going, but there is never enough time to really visit with anyone, and it is fairly disruptive being 2 weeks before Christmas.

Jeff is coming out in January when he gets time off again! I kind of thought I would be moved already, so I was a bit greedy with his time off at the beginning of the year. I feel really bad, actually, because he has absolutely none left to go visiting with. Next year we will be more careful with it, though, and hopefully we will be living in the same place soon after the first so it won't be a big deal. Back to Jeff coming out, though... we are going to do Christmas a few days late and have a big dinner, and it will be so much fun. I'm really looking forward to it.

I think that's about all for now. Dishes call.

Almost Done Painting and Pressure Washer Fun

There is seriously nothing more fun than pressure washing! I had been scrubbing the house to prep for paint... by hand. Gasp! Now that it is mid-October and I am down to crunch time with the weather, I was thinking of pressure washers... however they are $80 for a day long rental. Finally it popped into my head that Aunty Gail has a pressure washer! So I borrowed it, and had a fun filled weekend of painting. Everything is clean, and in a couple more days I should be done painting! It's so exciting!

Me post painting, Saturday night. This must be my worn out look.

A picture from the top of the house.

The mighty pressure washer. I've got to get one of these!

The library behind the house, from the roof.

Progress! By Sunday night 2 of the triangles at the top of the house are fully primed. Once they are painted, I am done! Jeff says they are called fascias... but I call them triangles.

Entertaining Doggy Pics

This coffee table used to be nice before Cosmo starting sleeping under it, running through it, etc. He's so cute, I still crack up every time I see his big butt under there!
Quinn put the Guitar Hero guitars on the couch to keep the dogs off. Well, without moving them an inch, Lily worked her way under them for a nap. She's our Guitar Puppy!

Winter Coat?

I am so confused. I thought that when winter came around, dogs got winter coats. Meaning that their hair gets thick and nice in gearing up for the cold weather.

Bunny, in particular, is a mess! Her hair is coming out in giant tufts, and her pants are coming out by the handful. LITERALLY! Lily, who never sheds, is just as bad. There is hair all over my house and really scruffy looking dogs. I have to admit I really enjoy coming along behind Bunny and giving her hanging mats a big yank, though. She gets SO indignant about it, but it is such fun. We've gotten to brushing her once a day and it does no good at all.

All I can imagine is that since they are indoor dogs, they get all messed up when we humans do things like crank up the heaters. Anyone want to confirm for me?

Chilling On a Sunday

We've been having a very chill weekend watching stuff on the computer and doing homework. The Corgis are being precious as always, but this time I got pictures. Cosmo using Bunny as a pillow, and them both sacked out SOUND asleep... we're talking twitching legs, rolled back eyes, the whole 9 yards. It's adorable.

Quote of the day: "Never let a problem to be solved become more important that a person to be loved."

I like that. It came from a talk about not taking people for granted or for taking your time for granted.

And Because That Last One Was So Fun...

What's your favorite color? Lime green, all the way.
What's your favorite animal? Dogs for house pets, cows in general, and giraffes at the zoo.
Who's your role model? Not sure I have one, really.

Family
How many siblings do you have? 1
How many people live in your house? 2
How many animals do you have? 5!
Where do you live(trailor, mansion, regular house )? Just a regular old house, ranch style, but it does have a living room AND a family room so it gives us a lot more space than the version that just has one of those rooms, and I like that.

Freinds
Who is your most valuable freind? Most valuable friend? Hmmm... lol, I think they are all pretty valuable to me!
Which friend do you look up to the most? I look up to a lot of my friends. I will make this interesting and name a few. I look up to Cheska because she has her head on straight and knows what she wants from life, and makes brave decisions. I look up to Desirea for really being in a good spot right now, and caring enough to always help out those who aren't.
How many best freinds do/did you have? I don't know that I could count them.
How many freinds have moved out of your city? Most of them, but a lot are starting to move back now.

Would you rather have...
coke or sprite? Coke, but I am trying to cut down on my carbonated beverage intake!
lunch or dinner? Dinner is far more interesting.
a sister or brother? I am pretty darned fond of my brother! I sometimes wonder if a sister would be easier to have taken over raising because I would "get her" better... but then I remember how nasty teenage girls are and come to my senses.
Mcdonalds or Burger King? Neither if I can help it.
boyfreind or freind? Hopefully one person who is both.
hug or kiss? Hug. I need a hug daily.
pinch or poke? Neither!
clown or doll? Doll

Survey Time

So I used to do these little surveys on Myspace a couple years ago. They were nice stress relief, but when I started to get totally addicted to them my friends began to make fun of me. For old time's sake... a survey.

About?
Name: Tavia, of course.
Ethnicity: About as white as a person can get without becoming transparent.
Height: 5'6" though Quinn swears I am 5'5." I am probably shrinking due to old age.
Hair Color: Depends on the week. Usually brown.
Eye Color: Green-ish.

Your opinions please?

Abortion: Oh this gets very complicated. I would never choose an abortion for myself, but I also believe that it is a moral decision and not a political one. If we start taking away a woman's right to make decisions for her body we are regressing back to the early 1900s. There are also many gray areas to the topic. Abortion is often used as a form of birth control, or to terminate a pregnancy where the baby would come out with no arms and an eyeball on their chin. For the sake of blogging peace, I will stop right here and say everyone has their own circumstances but it wouldn't work for me... unless maybe the baby was going to have no arms and an eyeball on their chin or I was going to die by giving birth.

Capital Punishment: Depends on the crime and if the person has been proven guilty beyond any doubt. Serial killers really do not need to be around.

Immigration: Hey, if you care enough to be here, care enough to come in legally. If you can't afford to come in legally, work hard when you get here, learn the language, and take the test. We're a far too accepting country, and we will accommodate you even after the fact... but don't walk into my place of business speaking a different language and then get angry that I can't help you. And for all those customer service departments who have different queues for different languages... um... JUST DONT! I went to Montreal once and came back with a darned good basic knowledge of French. They spoke English to me, but the signs are all in French.

War: I don't really know. War isn't the greatest way to solve problems, but when you have people who are irrational and want to hijack your planes and fly them into buildings, you can't exactly give them a hug and ask them to stop. If I wanted to think about the topic more in depth than that, I would pay better attention to the news and probably run for office.

America: Is kind of changing in ways I don't like. Still a great place to live overall, though.

Gay Marriage: I am neither gay nor married, so I don't think my comments on either topic would hold much weight with anyone.

The Economy: Kind of jacked. Ok, ok... extremely jacked. So jacked that it scares me, AND I have felt the effects of it in looking towards moving and realizing that's not as easy as it once was. Oh what I would give for a crystal ball and to have sold my house 6 months ago.

What???
Political Party are you: I think I am listed Independent but I typically vote Republican. Not because I completely agree with Republicans (see abortion not being a political subject, above) but fiscally I pretty much jive with what they say and money matters. Every time an election comes around (in my vast voting years at age 30, lol) I look into both candidates. I haven't voted Democrat yet. Obama had me going for a while... I like his ideas but think he is very unrealistic and the way he wants to go about certain things scares me a bit. McCain doesn't stand out as anything superwonderfuandfabulous, but he seems like a solid candidate with a good grasp on what can and should be accomplished. In all honesty, I would probably not vote Republican or Democrat ever, but since those are the only two candidates who ever have a shot at winning I figure I may as well put my vote where it is going to go towards a decision. Prediction: This will be my most commented blog yet.

Extrovert or Introvert: A little bit of both, depending on the situation.
Favorite sport: Basketball
Favorite person from that sport: Oh Kareem Abdul Jabar. Remember him?
Favorite person: Don't have one
Bothers you: Anything that feels out of my control drives me nuts.
Are you passionate about: Animal rights. I am too chicken to go let the mice out of the labs at OHSU, though.
Do you really think about yourself: I think I have a plethora of issues! Typically I mean well, but sometimes I try to be manipulative even though I really shouldn't because I suck at it (and it is the wrong thing to do). I am kind of self centered- I care a lot about other people but probably care too much about me me me.
Favorite culture: I haven't experienced many other cultures.
Most attractive ethnicity: Any mixed race person is usually very beautiful. Asian and white mix is usually gorgeous.
Favorite childhood cartoon: Wonder Woman (I used to have Wonder Woman roller skates AND underpants).

Favorite childhood memory: There are lots! Fishing with my grandpa in the boat; eating 3 Musketeers and spaghettios, drinking RC cola and watching Golden Girls with Grammy Violet every weekend; walking to Baskin Robbins with my mom was always a big treat; picking blackberries on the hill across from our house and coming home with huge buckets full of them, and gorging ourselves on them. Oh, and being TERRIFIED of super strict and sarcastic Uncle Jerry, who became my favorite family member as I got older. I remember the time I got a gum ball machine for Christmas and I walked around getting everyone to put a nickel in my gum ball machine and then I would give them a gum ball. Well, uncle Jerry put his nickel in and when we turned the knob no gum ball came out. He told me he wanted his nickel back and he was serious! I had to take my gum ball machine apart and give his nickel back because he said I was ripping him off otherwise! I am pretty sure I cried later in my room (but I am still a cry baby over everything) but he always tried to impart little bits of business knowledge on me, and apparently as a little kid he thought I was not too young!

Favorite subject: Definitely History. Didn't used to be, but I love it now.

What do you want to be when you grow up: I still have no idea!

What would be your ideal life: I would really like to own my own business, but I have no idea what I would do, so that is a problem. I am really sick of the working world, though, so I would like very much to keep busy, but be able to keep my own schedule and have a lot of free time. I would also like to travel a lot. I am into having money for the sake of travel, and other little comforts like a flexible schedule. And of course travel and flexible schedules are nothing if you are alone all the time, so I would like to be married to Jeff, have one or two kids, and a dog. Just one dog. Maybe 2 if the first dog gets lonely, but that is it. And since Jeff has allergies I have already decided we will be getting a Chinese Crested and a Standard Poodle :) More than anything, I would like to have an extremely simple life like I did as a kid. I'd like to spend weekends picking blackberries and eating them by the fist full (and having purple fists afterwards!) and having it be special to just go on a walk to pick up ice cream, and not watching too much tv or having such an emphasis on computers and games and all those electronic things that distract you from the people in your life.

Bunny, the One I Admire

I was driving the other day thinking about my dogs. This sounds silly to say, but I was going over their personalities and needs in my mind, and realized how much I wish I could be like Bunny.

Bunny is one of those really happy souls. She is almost always in a good mood and has a smile (literally) on her face. Even when she has stomach issues she is still happy and playful.

The thing that impresses me most is how she has handled her leg injury. Bunny can't walk at all anymore. She has to hop. She also can't stand for very long. So she will sit, or she will plop down on her belly. She doesn't let anything stop her, though. Sometimes she hops and hops and hops through the house, barking and playing with the other dogs. The point is, she has adapted, and has kept her same level of happiness. It's amazing.

The other thing I noticed is that Bunny lets things roll off her back. The other day I came out, and she and Lucy were hanging out through the baby gate. No worries, they are never alone unattended. But they were laying together really peacefully, and I was just shocked. Dogs are definitely not like people. They're better than us!

I would love to be able to take what life gives me and hop with it, and not hold grudges, all while keeping a smile on my face!